A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard
intended
for writing
and mailing without an envelope and at a lower rate than a letter.
Stamp collectors
distinguish between postcards (which require a stamp) and postal cards
(which have the postage pre-printed on them).
While a postcard is usually
printed by a private
company, individual or
organization, a postal card is issued by the relevant
postal authority.
John P. Charlton of Philadelphia patented the postcard in 1861, selling the
rights to H. L. Lipman,
whose postcards, complete with a decorated border, were labeled "Lipman's postal
card.
Nine years later European countries were also producing postcards. The first
country to actually
use the post card was Turkey, in 1876.